Wild Love
by Transformers 0
Summary: What if everything we ever knew was erased, and in its place only a mirror remained?
1. Prologue

**Wild Love**

 **Prologue**

What if everything we ever knew was erased, and in its place only a mirror remained?

When we ask ourselves who we are, what do we mean? Are we a living miracle, or a servant of death? Are we an embodiment of success, or a failure full of morbidity? Do you reflect love, or harvest hate? Do you shine brightly and openly, or stand isolated and stubborn? Who are you? What are you? Why are you?

Do you exist for savouring life? Enjoying it? Benefiting from it? Or do you only see it as the storm before the cessation of existence? The tip of the melting iceberg. The light before the black hole, perhaps?

Why do you exist the way you are? Is it God's will? Or Satan's? Or the Fates playing their cards and coins in an eternal cycle? Are you truly who you are because of the desire of your soul? Or what if the choices were already decided for you from birth? What if you were merely a pawn, a mite, an atom, compared to a Universe?

Why not stop playing your little games of short-term fulfillment? Take a look at the larger picture. See the brush strokes – hundreds of them – that make up the painting of a masterpiece. Every crease, so similar, yet so very different.

Imagine a world where everything was different to how you knew it before? Where would you imagine yourself in it? The same place you are now? With the same dreams? Same desires?

What if things were a little different?

What if a star disappeared from a galaxy? What if one flower was whisked away by the wind? What if the brush strokes were different, but the painter's desire the same?

When all is said and done, when circumstances collide, when actions are taken and fate plays its ever-evolving tune, would the masterpiece still exist?

* * *

 **Welcome all, to my first** _ **Zootopia**_ **story!**

 **Always wanted to do one!**

 **This is just the prologue that I've been waiting to post for quite a few weeks now!**

 **Hopefully you'll see a chapter or two over the next few days!**

 **Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!**

 **Transformers 0 over the moon and out!**


	2. Scout of the Free

**Scout of the Free**

"I, Nicholas Wilde, promise to be brave, loyal, helpful, _and_ trustworthy."

Bradley Beatnik the Beaver turned off his flashlight…

And the room lights were turned back onto full power.

"Swell, Nicholas! Welcome to the ZJS!" replied Andrew Slash, the zebra.

"Kirby. Kirby Saurus," the young hippo said, trading pawshakes with the 8-year-old fox.

"Ollie Powell," grinned the giraffe.

"Harrison Bray," greeted the goat, his Scottish accent accentuating his sentence.

Now this felt like family to young Nicholas Piberious Wilde. He now had a family away from home. There was now a place in the city where he could walk without wary eyes settling upon him. No prey mammals here would make a point to blatantly sidestep away from him, out of companionable range. Here, in the Zootopia Junior Scouts, he was just another mammal, another miracle, another precious life to behold. Another soul. Here, he was treated as just another one of God's many blessings to the Universe.

* * *

"Rookie scouts! As part of this herd of troops, it is necessary for you to learn the ropes of outdoor survival!" the ram instructor declared. The children were organized into three groups in front of him. Nick whispered to Harrison, "What's your guess on the activity?"

"Rowing."

"10k run."

"Fellas, hush!" whispered a young, _adorable_ fennec from another scout division. **[1]**

"Lads, lassies, you will be assigned to rock-climbing on your first week," the ram instructor said aloud, "Now head over to Mr Takai. You will travel by van to the camping grounds, and when you arrive and sort out bunking arrangements, he will show you what to do. Scout troops dismissed!"

An excitable badger raced by the boys as she scurried to her gear, all packed and ready. "Come on, mates! Vamos!"

"That there was Madge Honey. Ain't she sweet?" the fennec inquired, popping behind Nick and his posse and giving them a jump.

"Whoa! I think it's time you lay off the Red Bull there, um… say, what's your name?" rumbled Kirby.

"Oh, where are my manners?" the fennec chuffed, "My name's Finnick. Finnick Shear. Me and Madge are a part of Troop 230."

Nick stopped and stretched out a paw. "Nick Wilde. Troop 640. These are my friends. Kirby, Brad, Andy, Ollie and Harry."

"Honour's all mine to meet you," Fin continued, fidgeting with energy, "Camping's gonna be swell with you guys! I'd better grab my stuff! Catcha later!"

Finnick shot off to prepare his gear.

"Something tells me this'll be a doohickey of a trip," Ollie remarked. The boys went to their cabin to prepare.

* * *

The trip to Cliffside was eventful. There were several rather loud choruses of scout boys and scout girls humming the French National Anthem.

Then after the kids got tired of humming, the discussions drifted into basic facts competitions. After the anti-mathematic kids got fed up with the amount of numbers and numbers and numbers that the intellectuals were spouting, the kids went back to humming classic themes, such as Hogan's Horses, The Longest Bray, Battle of Zootopia, and The Hay Team. **[2]**

After another hour, the kids' voices grew tired of singing, so the rest of the journey was filled with half-mumbles of "Are we there yet?" and the half-grumbles of the stock replies "Not yet." and "No!".

* * *

 **Nick's childhood was originally planned to be one long chapter, but I didn't have the patience for that, and I want to update quickly for you guys, so now his childhood will probably span two or three chapters.**

 **[1] I originally planned Clawhauser to appear instead of Finnick, but I realized that the latter would be better for the role. Don't worry, you'll see the former likely in the next chapter.**

 **[2] Guess what famous shows and movies I made an animal pun out of. Go ahead, guess. I dare ya. I double dare ya.**

 **Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!**

 **Hope to see you again soon with another chapter!**

 **Transformers 0 over the moon and out!**


	3. Scout of Justice

**Scout of Justice**

The playgrounds at the campsite helped to pacify the now-unruly kids when they finally arrived. Bags and packs were quickly shoved and stuffed into wooden, creaky cabins and off the young animals went, barging into the playpens. For the rest of the afternoon, excited shouts, joyful pratfalls, and an all around jovial atmosphere descended upon the area. The kids were definitely disappointed when they were called in for dinner… until the supervising rangers said that there was fish and chips (for predators) and vegetarian sushi (for prey) all around. The kids proceeded to dig in, some politely, and some… messily, you could say.

Bradley leaned over to Nick. "You know, this reminds me of a magic goat movie I once watched. Harry Trotter, I think it was called," the beaver squeaked.

"I've seen that movie too! I love it so much!" Nick grinned back, before realization swept over him, "Wait…"

"Hah! You've lost your head again, Sir Nicholas!" Madge popped in, having overheard the beaver and the fox. Nick giggled, "At least you didn't call me–"

"NEARLY HEADLESS NICK!" the whole table roared with laughter, "Do it! Tilt your head! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it!"

"Alright then!" Nick grinned, preparing himself. He did grabbed an ear, tilted his head, and said, "Avast ye Bloody Baron! Gryffindors will take home the house cup this year!"

To top it off, the young fox did a dab upon finishing his impersonation.

The hall erupted into laughter and cheers, and the adults didn't have it in themselves to bring pause to this moment of childhood innocence and playfulness.

Besides, by the time the children returned to their bunks, they were so worn out from the day that they quickly changed, brushed their teeth, and fell asleep at once.

* * *

"Race ye to da top?" asked Harry Bray.

"I'll give ya a head start," Nick replied back.

"Your mistake!" the older boy shot back, grinning. He then proceeded to jump up and hook his paws onto two outward jutting rocks. His climbing rope held firm, and erased 99% of his worries.

"I'm right behind ya, Bray!" Nick called. Bray looked down between his legs, and didn't see Nick below. When he turned his head left, he could see Nick had already started to take the lead.

"Hey! You're fast!"

"Fast like a rocket!" Andy replied, starting to surpass Harry as well.

"Aren't mountain goats supposed to be king of the rocks?" Kirby queried, the young hippo starting to scurry past the young goat despite his _weight_.

"Yeah, well… vertically ascending isn't everything!" Ollie called from far beneath, defending his buddy. "Thanks," Harry grinned down from his perch. "Keep going!" Ollie shouted in encouragement. Harrison Bray steeled his nerves, and cautiously brought one limb forward, followed by another. He then scanned the rock holds in front of him, checking to see which ones looked secure enough. This pattern repeated itself, and as the actions burned itself into the young goat's mind, his teeth clenched and his pace quickened, and he became determined to finish the course.

"You're almost there!"

Harry looked up and saw every kit standing on the platform at the top of the cliff face. Only he and Ollie remained to finish their vertical trek.

"Come on, keep going!" Nick called, reaching out a paw, ready to help pull his friend onto the platform. "I've got this. I've got this!" Harry repeated to himself, his mantra providing him with a source of unquenchable courage. He put all his strength and energy into every upwards inch.

"Almost there… YES!" cried Harry as he finally latched a hoof onto Nick's paw. The rest of the kids cheered and helped the young cub pull up the goat. To Harry, it didn't matter that he was second to last. It didn't matter that climbing wasn't second nature to him, despite his species. It didn't even matter that this was only a kiddy test, and that in a real life scenario, he would most likely not have a rope for a sense of security. They had all climbed, all traversed and all triumphed over this obstacle. _"We did this together,"_ Harry thought as he helped pull Ollie up to join the rest of the kids in celebration.

"All for one and one for all!" the junior scouts cheered!

"Now before you kids get too cocky," their instructor spoke up, "Now it's time to rappel down the cliff."

Turning to his left, he showed them an instruction video on the TV screen of the climbing base.

"We have to _jump_ and put our faith in these ropes?!" Ollie gulped out. Bradley and Harry took his left and right hoof respectively. "We can do this – together."

"Alright. Together," the giraffe calf repeated, his resolve reigniting.

Five minutes later…

"Follow me everyone!" shouted Nick from the front, leading the charge off the platform and jumping through the air with a joyful whoop. His rope and harness gently tightened and guided him back to the cliff face, where he used his hind legs to spring off again.

"LET'S DO THIS THING!" cried Ollie, pulling Bradley and Harry with him. "Here we go!" shrieked the beaver kit with excitement.

And as their feet left the ground, they felt free, and did not have any fear in their hearts.

* * *

"But I can't swim!" screeched Kirby hysterically as the river drew nearer.

"Come on man, you're a hippo!" said Bradley disbelievingly, pulling his friend along by the arm.

"Besides, we'll be making a chain, so you'll more or less be safe," piped up Nick.

They reached the river crossing and filed into three lines. "Biggest mammals at each end. Smaller mammals in the middle," the supervisor called to them. Then with several coils of rope, each individual tied a secure loop around themselves. "Line 1, you're clear to start," the supervisor said. The big mammals of this line were medium sized – they were tigers who burned with fiery determination and marched onwards with stony resolution.

"Line 2, go! Line 3, standby!"

Line 2 was where Nick and his friends were. This line was made up of smaller mammals, who were reinforced by heavy elephant calves to ensure steadfast movement. The last line to proceed was made up of the biggest kids, who would sandwich Line 2 between themselves and Line 1 to ensure the smaller kids in Line 2 weren't swept away, nor tire themselves out by being the first ones battered by the mild current. Good plan, but even the most thought out ones can spiral out of control.

"Guys! I'm slipping!" Andrew called out. The zebra lost his footing on some mossy rocks and was dragged underneath the surface. "Pull everyone, pull!" the lead elephant kid shouted. The rest of the kids pulled, but the river was stronger. Frantic for his friend's safety, despite his inability to swim Kirby broke formation to help pull him back up. To get something done right, you often must do it yourself. Unfortunately, this caused a domino collapse, and by the time the supervisor processed what was happening, the river was sweeping the shrieking kids away.

"Line 3! Brace and get ready to pick them up! Line 1! Follow me!" the supervisor shouted, dragging her furry body through the speeding waters. She drew nearer and nearer to the combined tangled mess of lines 2 and 3. Suddenly a shout rang out.

"LOG!"

The instructor turned round and was just in time to get conked out by a floating log, which struck her square in the snout. Her unconscious body started drifting away at an ever increasing rate of speed.

"Cut me loose!" Kirby hollered to Nick, shaking the young fox with abrupt desperation. Reluctantly, he unsheathed his claws and he did. Kirby forced his legs to kick and his arms to paddle, and taking a deep breath, he plunged after the teacher. By some miracle he managed to catch her shirt with his jaw, and he dragged the both of them down to a large rock jutting out from the riverbed. He held on with all his might, with all his heart. He gave all he was worth for. Eventually, he felt himself fading, his strong jaws slackened to the point of letting go.

 _"NO!"_

His eyes drooped closed and sealed over. And he felt himself tumbling head over heels through the current. The last thing he felt was several pairs of paws and hooves latching onto him.

Then he felt his heart give out.

* * *

"Kirb?"

"Kirby!"

"Come on buddy, come back to us!"

The little hippo's eyes snapped open and he felt the air bleed into his chest like a life giving torrent. "What happened to me?" he rasped out, forcing himself to hold his head steady and high. "Ya did it! Ye saved Mrs Llamaton!" Harry spoke out, unlimited pride beaming out from his face. Kirby turned his head to see his instructor, now revived, on her knees. Her concerned eyes stared at him. She piped up, "While we were underneath the land of the living, Michael managed to cut his own rope and run for help."

She paused, and Kirby saw pride almost like his mother's spreading over Mrs Llamaton's face.

"You did good, Kirby Kirk Saurus. You did good." **[1]**

And with that she patted a warm hoof on his shoulder.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon's remaining activities were cancelled, and the junior scouts were given a movie night with burgers, pizza and chips. That evening, all was seemingly placid, satisfactory, and ecstatic by the riverside.

Next morning, however, a scurry was incited.

As Nick and company made their way down to the changing rooms to prepare for the adventure course (which they had missed yesterday thanks to the schedule slip), they found several lion cubs harassing a cheetah cub and a sloth cub.

"Ha! Look at these slowpokes!" the leader hooted.

"Oh look! What's the matter buddy? You ain't tall enough? Or fit enough?" another jeered, watching as the young cheetah tried in vain to jump up and snatch his shorts back. "Oh come on!" the cheetah pleaded breathlessly.

"Nope, we don't have time or room in this camp for unfit, unlikable slowcoaches such as yourselves."

With that, one of the lion cubs sent a kick that sent the cheetah sprawling into a locker.

"Hey!" Nick cried out, stepping to the cheetah's side, "Don't be bullies!"

He checked over the cheetah, taking the other boy's paw, "You alright?"

"Uh… huh…" the spotted boy managed to wheeze out. But we all knew he was anything but that, didn't we?

"What kind of kids are ye?" snapped Harry, strutting forward with his hooves clacking angrily on the tiles. "You ask yourselves that question!" the lead lion retorted, "What kind of dumb mammal sticks up for a weakling? This is nature and reality! Only the strong survive!"

At this subtle urging, another lion shoved the sloth backwards. The sloth cub went flying, but fortunately Nick had anticipated that and had his stubby arms outstretched ready to catch him. As he checked over the sloth, he could see small tears slowly leaking out of the wet brown orbs. It was now clear that this heckling had gone on for quite a while now. And now it had to stop.

"Okay, that's enough! How can any animal do this to another?" the little fox angrily snapped. The lions chortled at his naivety, "Fellow predator? Do you know nothing of our ancient way of life?"

"I do," Nick replied softly, "But not every old thing has value within it."

"Then you shall pay the price!" the lead lion said, and lunged suddenly at Nick. The fox flinched backwards… and was startled to see a baseball bat come out of nowhere and bat the cub away from him.

"Finnick! You saved me!" Nick sputtered out.

"Don't get all sappy 'bout it, brotha!" Finnick grinned back at the other kit, before charging at the bothersome pack. Nick followed suit, charging fearlessly. Harry, Andy and Kirby joined in the brawl.

"Smash them!" Bradley hooted.

"Bash them!" Ollie cheered.

"Tear them apart!" screeched Madge Honey in excitement. The badger kit had arrived just in time to witness the start of the scuffle.

Nick squirmed around a swipe from a lion and landed a punch straight to the snout. The lion growled with pain and anger and tried to retaliate, but Nick dodged the jab and nailed a double hammer fist to the back.

Finnick was easily holding his own with his buddy baseball bat, swinging and blocking blows like a gazelle ballerina. Harry watched his back and kicked away any sneak attacks.

Kirby and Andy were together, Kirby drawing attention and blows, and Andy hoofing aggressors in the abdominal area. The lion opposing Nick managed to knock him to one side, however, and charged at the sidelined sloth.

"NO!" screamed Nick.

Anguish choked him, and his feet felt paralyzed. He couldn't stop the cub from slashing his claws across the face of the kit. The sloth flew back and landed in a prone position next to the cheetah, who looked like he was about to faint. Nick raced over, but he was too late to take action as the cheetah abruptly hooked his tail around the foot of the lion and tripped him over. The lion landed, too dazed and groggy to get back up again. Nick and the cheetah locked stunned eyes upon one another. "Nice trick, slick," Nick stuttered out, body slackening for several moments. The cheetah started to tremble again uncontrollably.

"LOOK OUT!" the cub screeched.

Nick spun round, just in time to see another lion disarm and shove aside Finnick. The attacker charged, intent on swinging the bat head on at the fox cub. This time he was screwed. Nick felt like a tree rooted to the ground. His eyes thankfully blurred over somehow.

"Stop this at once!" an adult cried out.

Too late.

CRACK!

Everything went black.

* * *

 **[1] I just had to make Kirby's middle name Kirk. I just had to.**

 **Hopefully I can continue to update frequently over the next few days.**

 **Transformers 0 over the moon and out!**


	4. Rising Up

**Rising Up**

Nick awoke in the room of a nearby hospital. The little kit turned his head, scanning the white room, before managing to spot his mother, Marian, sitting on a chair praying with a rosary in her paws. "Hi, Mama," he managed to croak out, his voice sounding a little nasally to him.

She noticed the sound, evidenced by the twitching of her ears and the raising of her head. "Oh Nicky, my boy!" she cried joyfully, racing over to her kit and wrapping her motherly arms around him. "Mama! Can't… breathe…" Nick wheezed groggily. His angel of a mother immediately adjusted her grip, though she didn't let go. Nick didn't mind though. He loved being able to still get long, full body hugs from his Mama.

"You, Nicholas Piberious Wilde, you were lucky to escape that fight with only a broken nose… and two black eyes," Marian muttered, her voice a mixture of emotions, still clutching her baby tightly to her chest.

"Indeed he was," said the badger doctor, as he stepped into the room. He held the door open as Madge, Nick's friends, and the cheetah and sloth from earlier filed into the room. "This here is my Papa!" Madge squeaked.

"Well done, man! We showed them!" Harry hooted.

"Who again?" replied Nick, scratching his head. He winced when he felt a painful bump.

"You also received a slight concussion from that bat," Mr Honey reported, bearing witness to the fox kit's discomfort.

"The lions…" replied the young cheetah, slowly stepping forward, "Don't you remember?"

"Oh, now I do," mumbled Nick as the memories flooded back in. The little sloth inched forward.

"Thank… you…" he slowly spoke in a quiet voice.

"You're very welcome there–" Nick replied. But he was cut off by the sloth's irregular speech pattern.

"For… standing up… for us…" the sloth finished.

When it was certain the sloth cub wouldn't say anything else, the young cheetah spoke up, "His name's Flash. Flash Slothmore. I'm Ben. Benjamin Clawhauser. We both owe ya, Nick Wilde."

"No, it was my pleasure to help," the little fox insisted, beaming from one cheek to the other.

"Anyway, it's me that owes you," Finnick the fennec kit spoke up. Nick looked at him in bewilderment.

"I shouldn't have brought that bat to camp. The older kids just used it against us," Finnick explained.

"But at the same time you wouldn't have been able to help my boy," Marian consoled the young fennec, "You did good, young man."

"Those lion king jerks are in for it now," whistled Bradley Beatnik.

"They were escorted home by some not too happy instructors," Kirby spoke up. Andy continued the report, "And the police were called in to talk to their families."

"BUSTED!" huffed Madge with a giggle, "Serves them right!"

"One of our officers wants to speak with all of you now," a foreign voice declared from behind the assembled group of animals. All heads present turned to the doorway. A Zootopia Police Department Officer stood proud and tall at the entrance. He strutted in, his hooves clicking on the white tiles.

"I am Officer Oates, and I am here to reward you all for your brave efforts in ensuring justice amongst your community. Kids, as you may have heard from your parents, doing the right thing as an adult comes from taking the right step as youngling. So to hear about your exploits in defending one another with no discrimination nor hesitation in your hearts brings me great joy and pride. For young Nicholas here…"

The horse steadily made his way to the bedside where mother and child awaited.

"Here is a basket of chocolates and a gift card for you, young lad. I have deposited in your mother's bank account a high amount of lucrative funding."

"Thank you sir," whispered Nick in immeasurable awe.

"Bless you, Officer Oates," replied Marian, grateful tears in her eyes, "Bless you! Bless you!"

Her years of praying to God to help bring closure to their poverty problems was finally fulfilled.

"Kirby Saurus. Harrison Bray. Andrew Slash. Ollie Powell. And Bradley Beatnik," Oates continued, turning to face the group of five, "Harrison, here's that Kung Fu training book your mother told me you've always wanted."

Harry squealed as his hooves touched the leather hardcover.

"Ollie, I've heard you are quite the artist. So here is a deluxe art kit from Crayola."

"I've always wanted this! Thank you, sir!"

"Don't mention it. Kirby?"

The hippo humbly stepped forward. Oates pulled out something from behind his back.

"Weights. To help build your upper body strength for swimming. Never underestimate yourself."

"Thank you," was all the quiet words that the young hippo could muster up.

"Andrew, here is a camouflage kit, and a Nerf gun collection. I've heard about your father's exploits in the farthest regions of Pangaea. He would be very proud of you right now." **[1]**

The little zebra gave the officer a snappy salute.

"Madge, I have given your family 20% of my life's savings. I have never had a family of my own, but you are the closest thing to a surrogate daughter I could have ever had. May your family use that money to help you accomplish your dream of being one of Zootopia's finest doctors, like your father."

Madge cuddled up to her father's leg. She was still not even half her father's size, so she was able to still hide behind one of his legs. She could feel a warm blush creeping onto her cheeks. She peeked her little face out, and mustered up the courage to deliver a short but sweet response.

"Thank you, Mr Oates."

"For you, little Bradley, I give you a survival handbook. I know in my heart that you will use it well."

Bradley slowly took the book in silent awe. He gave a cute little smile to the officer and bowed his little head in a gesture of appreciation.

Oates turned to the cheetah and sloth cubs.

"Benjamin and Flash, I have given your parents academic books written by the best scholars, as well as top tier athletic equipment. And two boxes of donuts for you each. Train your brain and your brawn well. And you will be amazed at how far you can go."

"Sir yes sir!" grinned Clawhauser, snapping his chubby little body broomstick straight.

"Sir… yes… sir…" replied the much slower Flash. Oates kindly and patiently waited for the youngling to finish before turning to the fennec kit.

"You, young Finnick, acted like an officer in the line of duty," Oates said, taking the ZPD badge off his chest and signing it with a marker, "So it is with high praise and honour that I give you my old badge, autographed by me. Wear it well, young lad, and may you live your life by its values."

"I will, sir. I promise, sir," the young fennec vowed.

Officer Oates stood himself up. "It appears that my work here is done. High praise to you all. Well done kids, for seeking out and acting to uphold justice. And to you parents, well done for raising your kids _right_. Thank you all, and God bless."

A mild cacophony of grateful farewells filled the room as the officer departed.

As Oates left, all the kids locked eyes momentarily.

They were sure as heck going to live up to the promise they had made this afternoon.

Even from his bedside, Nick could hear the gallant police horse starting up his vehicle.

"Mother," he said, voice tinged with quiet yet courageous resolution.

"Yes, my child?" Marian replied, scooting over a bit to give her son room to speak.

Listening to the sirens fading in the distance, Nick decided to start pursuing his objective from this moment onwards.

"I have a dream…"

* * *

 **[1] In this AU, Pangaea is still a mega-continent, but Antarctica still exists at the bottom of the world. There is a reason for this which I will not spoil. And there is also a war going on. And that is all I will say on that topic right now.**

 **So here are the ages of the main kits so far (and the list is from youngest to oldest):  
** **Madge (6)  
** **Flash (6)  
** **Ben (7)  
** **Nick (8)  
** **Bradley (8)  
** **Ollie (8)  
** **Andy (9)  
** **Harry (9)  
** **Kirby (10)  
** **Finnick (11)**

 **Those lion cubs attacking them last chapter? They are 12 years old.**

 **To answer another question some of you may be having, I have indeed taken the closing line for this chapter from Martin Luther King.**

 **Anyhow, since this is obviously the last chapter of Nick's childhood, the next chapter onwards will be covering the plot of the movie, so hopefully the pace will be much faster – and not just in terms of story plot, but also in terms of me updating!**

 **Funny thing is, last night I had an epiphany. I'm more prepared to write the sequel to this than I am prepared to write this story itself!**

 **Yep, you heard me! There's a sequel planned to this already!**

 **But I need to finish this first! And hopefully that doesn't take eons!**

 **Don't forget to review! Thank you for reading!**

 **Transformers 0 over the moon and out!**


	5. Sustenance

**Sustenance**

 _15 years later…_

"It gives me great honour and pleasure to present our first two fox officers to the public!" Mayor Dawn Bellwether announced, "These two young gentlemammals are the product of my assistant mayor's Mammal Inclusion Initiative Programme!"

The crowds were split. Half cheered for Nick Wilde and Finnick Shear. These were the predators. Another half jeered. These were the prey. The protesters were kept behind a stern and uncompromising wall of ZPD staff.

For the preds though, this day would go down in history as marking the start of a new era in Zootopia. An era where predators and prey had equal footing. An era where there were equal opportunities for every mammal, and anyone could be what they wanted to be.

* * *

Present. Happy. Ready.

These were the thoughts that flashed through Nick Wilde's mind as he made his way to the building of Zootopia's Main Police Department, Precinct One.

Today would be his and his friends' first days on their respective careers, and they were all fired up and raring to go. They had spent years planning and preparing for this moment.

Bradley and Finnick had trained to be highly excellent drivers for the force. Their teachers and friends could attest to how they made cruisers seem like jets on the road.

Harry and Kirby specialized in arresting and detainment. With their combined teamwork and body power, few animals could match them in close combat.

Clawhauser trained in the subjects of negotiation and "soft" interrogation. His charisma and compassion for any mammal he met was seen as a valuable asset for a future ZPD officer.

Madge had studied to the point where she became one of Zootopia's finest doctor apprentices after graduation. She and her friends unanimously agreed that having a first class doctor would prove invaluable for action-hungry cops.

Ollie became a detective. His analytical and observational skills were of the highest caliber.

Andy joined the SWAT division. His loyalty, bravery, determination and stoicness made him a shining candidate for the deployment in subtly game-changing environments, such as the outskirts of the Rainforest District, or in the heart of Tundratown.

Flash had taken the courses necessary to educate himself for his future career of DMV worker. He would be specialized for dealing with any number plate cases that the ZPD would present to him. Even as a slowcoach, he had found ways to help his friends. And make the world a better place.

Nick had spent every day studying up law, order, combat and justice. Every night he spent a significant amount praying to God for guidance and success – not for himself, but for the greater good of all mammals.

And so, whilst the others went to their respective career stations, Nick, Finnick, Ollie, Harry, Kirby, Benjamin and Bradley strolled past the opening sliding doors and walked in union towards the bullpen, where they knew their future roles awaited them. The older, seasoned officers looked appraisingly at the rookies, silently assessing their preliminary qualities with subtle shifts of their gazes.

* * *

There were already some officers dutifully sitting in the meeting room when Nick and the others arrived. They filed in and took their seats next to each other. When several older officers came in, the room got a bit more lively and its inhabitants slightly more rowdier. It wasn't until a big buffalo came in and yelled "ORDER!" that the room fell silent. Nick and his friends waited excitedly.

"Ladies and Gentlemammals, today we have with us some new recruits," the buffalo spoke, scanning through his documents for the day, "Who cares? Let's get down to business. First we have to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Officer Brie, Happy Birthday."

The seasoned mouse officer saluted gratefully back at her chief, while her junior partner Officer Francine elevated the rodent onto her raised trunk for everybody to see. Then the elephant gently placed the birthday recipient back down again, and all eyes shifted back to the Chief.

"We have 14 missing mammal cases, all ranging from a giant grizzly bear to a teensy little otter. And City Hall is right up my arse to find them. This affair is of the highest priority. Officers Fangmeyer, Brie and Delgato and Trunkaby, your teams take Sahara Square. Officers Higgins, Snarlof and Wolford, Tundratown. Officers Andersen, Grizzoli and Jackson, take your units Downtown," Bogo said, then he paused as he examined his newest recruits, "Officers Saurus and Powell, you will join Officer Krumpanski on a patrol through the Canal District. Officers Bray and Beatnik, you will be assisting the Downtown Team. Officer Shear, join the Tundratown investigation team." **[1]**

The aforementioned animals dutifully went to their assigned places. All that was left now was Nick and Ben.

"Finally, Officers Wilde and Clawhauser," Bogo spoke, looking up from his papers. Nick and Ben sat up straighter than ever.

"Parking Duty. Dismissed."

Benjamin saluted and eagerly made his way through the exit while Nick took longer to process his mandate. Bogo didn't see anything wrong as of the moment, so he got up and made his way over to the door.

"Chief!" he heard Wilde call to him. He turned and looked expressionlessly. "Wilde," he replied, acknowledging the fox and waiting for his answer. "You said there were 14 missing mammals. I can handle one," Nick offered fervently.

"Yeah, when my species can grow wings and fly," Bogo grunted.

"Sir, I have been training for this career for 15 years. This is just what I need to test my mettle," Nick continued to lightly protest and offer.

"Then writing out 20 tickets a day should be easy for a fox like you," Bogo replied before walking out and letting the door shut on its own accord.

Nick sighed and got out of his seat, following Clawhauser to the ZPD parking lot.

"You've gotta start somewhere," he told himself.

* * *

 **[1] Just so you don't get confused, here are the names and surnames of the main kids now grown up:  
** **Madge Honey  
** **Flash Slothmore  
** **Benjamin Clawhauser  
** **Nicholas Wilde  
** **Bradley Beatnik  
** **Ollie Powell  
** **Andrew Slash  
** **Harrison Bray  
** **Kirby Saurus  
** **Finnick Shear**

 **This is because of the police protocol which requires formality, so officers are always referred to as "Officer [insert surname here]".**

 **You don't know how much of a bother it was for me to remember and keep track of all those surnames.**

 **Hopefully I can deliver another update before December!**

 **Transformers 0 over the moon and out!**


	6. Pick a Role

**Pick a Role**

"I'm just saying, that Chief Buffalo Butt could've had a little more faith in us," chuffed Nick to Clawhauser as the fox slipped through the open door of the single-seated parking enforcement vehicle.

"Ah brighten up, Nick. You know that nature doesn't usually gift someone at the top straight away," replied his cheetah friend.

"Not even someone as competent as you? I mean seriously, you're a dang cheetah. You don't even need that vehicle!" remarked Nick in bemusement.

"Parking Enforcement is a task that does not rely on stamina or speed, my friend. Even though I have plenty of it," Clawhauser tutted back. And it was true. Ever since that _eventful_ day at the Junior Ranger Scouts Camp, Benjamin had trained his body hard. And also his brain, just like he promised Officer Oates.

"Eh, let's just dig straight down into this," Nick resolved, "The sooner we get to work, the sooner the day passes. The sooner the days pass, the sooner the week passes. The sooner the weeks pass, the sooner the month passes. And I can't wait until then to get promoted. I hope."

"Race ya to a hundred tickets," quipped Clawhauser.

"You're on, Benny," replied Nick.

* * *

"Hah! 101 tickets before noon! Come on now, bud, tell me truthfully what you got," Clawhauser grinned as he barked out his achievement joyfully through his radio.

"27," replied Nick, inwardly wincing with embarrassment. He let out a shy chuckle, "Well, it looks like lunch is on me then."

"Where do you suggest?" crackled the voice of Clawhauser. Nick looked at his GPS. "Bug Burga looks appealing. There's a joint in Downtown."

"See you there in an hour!" his cheetah friend replied in an enthused manner. Nick sighed in happiness for his friend. One of Clawhauser's best perks was that even if you just gave him an inch, he would treat it like a golden move on your part and act as if he was permanently in your debt for it. Now, Nick was idealistic, but Benjamin just took that aspect up to eleven.

The hour passed soon enough, and Nick quickly found himself parking his automobile at the lot outside the fast food restaurant. As he dismounted his vehicle, his eye caught onto a young bunny girl, no older than 15, and her arctic shrew friend, who was perched on her shoulder. The bunny looked gorgeous. And a bit addled.

"OOF!" wheezed Nick as the bunny, who's head barely reached his upper abdomen, unintentionally slammed into him.

"Careful there, missus," he warned kindly, seeing that the bunny girl looked terribly sheepish and penitent.

"So sorry, sir. I was just talking to my friend here too much without watching where I was going. We're close friends at high school, you see. Practically sisters," the bunny replied. She raised a finger at the shrew sitting on her shoulder, "This here is Fru Fru. She may be 3 years above me, but we're totally inseparable."

"Hi," the arctic shrew squeaked, "Pleased to meet you, Mister–"

"Wilde. Nick Wilde," the adult fox replied to the two juveniles. "Now darling, all that's left is to introduce your name to me," he said keenly to the bunny.

"Judy. Judy Little," the bunny answered, imitating Nick's own formal greeting.

"That has a nice ring to it," Nick grinned as he gave a little salute. He excused himself as he stepped past them to get to the restaurant. "It was nice meeting you two! But an officer's duty calls! Especially if said duty is to his stomach!"

He waved farewell as the girls returned the gesture with a few giggles.

* * *

"O-M-Goodness! Look who's finally arrived!" a well-known voice that Nick knew well purred out enthusiastically. But the fox was surprised to see two more of his best friends also joining them at the joint for lunch.

"Here's Nicky!" hooted Harry with a smile. He clapped a hoof on Nick's back.

"What were you assigned to do?" asked Bradley with bright anticipation. Nick's eyes flitted skyward in slight disappointment. "Parking Duty along with Benny here," he replied. "Don't look so glum!" piped up Harry, "We'll all pitch in to try to make your promotion pass by more quickly!"

"Thanks," mumbled Nick gratefully before turning to Benjamin, "So buddy, what will your order be?"

"Two large orders of cheese fries with a bowl of beetle salad!" the cheetah grinned hungrily, his mouth slavering away.

"Coming right up," Nick said as he began to make his way towards the counter. However, the lack of something crucial in his front pocket made him stop in his tracks.

"What the _fudge_? Where is my wallet?" Nick oinked in alarm, slapping his paws around his uniform in a futile attempt to find something that _wasn't_ there anymore. He swiftly slid back to his friends' table. "You guys seen my wallet anywhere?"

"You've been pickpocketed?" Benjamin gasped in horror, putting his paws to his chin.

"And on your first day too. Man, that must suck," continued Harry, his gaze registering sympathy for his friend.

"Don't worry there, I'll pay for us," Benjamin answered immediately, relieving his buddy of the most forefront issue at the moment. That left room for the next problem to come up. "Where could my wallet have gone to?" Nick grumbled to himself, scanning the floor of the restaurant.

"Where do ye think ye might have dropped it?" asked Harry, putting a hoof to his furry chin.

"I might have – oh no," groaned Nick, slapping a paw to his forehead as he recalled the last interesting event that had happened to him. The rabbit girl bumping into him. She must've been the one who had stolen his wallet! But she looked so innocent, so cute!

 _"Snap out of it, Nick! She's a sneaky little thief!"_ the fox mentally chided himself. Benji returned with their meals. "You got a lead there?" the cheetah asked.

"Oh yes. Yes I do," hummed Nick in a low and _hurt_ whisper.

* * *

Nick decided that his best course of action would be to finish his parking duties for the day, return the vehicle to the ZPD grounds, and then conduct his personal investigation on foot. It was twilight at 5:00 pm now, for it was Autumn in Zootopia. To most other animals, this would have been an upsetting botheration. To naturally nocturnal mammals such as Nick, the swift approach of Night would level the hunting field, so it was welcoming to him.

To make matters easier, Nick had found that several bits of the bunny's fur had stuck to his uniform. So all he had to do to find his prey was to follow the scent.

He tracked her down soon enough. She – what was her name again? – and her arctic shrew friend were busy strolling down a trafficated street. The bunny was carrying what looked to be like a bucket full of soapy water, with a squeegee dunked within it. She would then stop at a random car and wipe the front and back windscreen clean. The driver would then pay her for her impromptu services.

Every so often, one car inhabitant would need to go to find a bathroom. The congestion took ages to move an inch anyway, so most of the time, the animals in other vehicles waited patiently while said driver did his or her business in a portable loo at the side of the road.

Nick noticed that Judy – so he did remember her name! – took this allocated time to rest for a bit on the car she was cleaning by leaning her tired body on the driver's door. As he squinted and made his way over to get a closer look, Nick found that the shrew – Fru Fru, he remembered – would peek into the window to make sure that no one else was in the vehicle. Then the shrew would climb into the car if the driver was naïve enough to leave their window open, and she would flip open drawers to get spare change left inside. If lucky enough, Fru Fru would find that the driver had foolishly left their wallet in the car, and so she could make off with a lot more cash in paw. Being the small mammal she was, no other inhabitants in other vehicles would take any notice when she climbed her way out of the cab, back through the open window, to make her way back to her perch on her friend's shoulder.

This business went on for the next quarter of an hour, before the bunny and shrew finally retreated off to the sidelines. From his stealthy position in the encompassing shadows of the night, Nick's forest green orbs blazed with tranquil fury.

He silently gave pursuit as he saw them turn a corner.

* * *

"Didn't your mother ever teach you that it was wrong to steal?" Nick snarled as he finally found and cornered the pair in a dark side alley as they were counting their fortunes.

"For your information, I don't have a mother," the bunny mentioned offhandedly, not taking her eyes off the cash that she was busy counting in her paws.

"Yeah, so why don't you piss off and leave the poor girl alone, officer?" huffed Fru Fru.

Nick took a few steps forward, his body language threatening to wreak justice among the juvenile delinquents.

"I can place you two under custody, you know," he snarled lowly, his patience wearing thin.

"Ha! You think they're gonna believe a fox? Even if you're one of their own, they will never see it that way, rookie. You're effing screwed," jeered the shrew. But she wasn't done yet.

"Go back home to _your_ mama. She'll teach you all about the big bad world. You'll need that lesson in reality."

 _That was it._

Nick roared and charged, a paw outstretched ready to slap and knock out that irritable rodent.

"You little brats! OW!"

Things didn't go according to his plan however, when Judy hopped up and delivered an aerial roundhouse kick to his face.

"You know Fru Fru, I think that's why the crime level is increasing. The cops _really_ are getting _stupider_ ," remarked the bunny.

Nick grunted angrily as he picked himself up off the concrete. He rushed forward again, swinging a punch to the annoying bunny, who unfortunately was able to block that strike and counter with a jab of her own, straight to his gut.

"OOF!" Nick groaned, barely managing to shove the teenaged rabbit off of him.

"I pity you, Officer Wilde. I really do," said Judy with a slight shake of her head. Then she raced forward, leapt high and delivered the finishing kick to his face.

Nick collapsed backwards, too weary and stunned to try to get up again.

"So…" he muttered as he spat out some blood, "Finish it."

"No," replied Judy.

"No?" Nick gasped in surprised, clutching at his head and his stomach painfully.

"You may view us as merely criminals, officer, but we are not criminals without honour," said Fru Fru, as Judy lifted her up to her shoulder. The two girls both collected their cash and stolen goods.

"The appearance… is deceptive…" noted Nick dryly, still prone on the floor.

"You want proof?" retorted Judy, before throwing something in front of the fox, "Here it is. Come, Fru Fru. Father is waiting for us."

The two teenage delinquents left, not really thinking that Nick was conscious enough to latch onto the last sentence. But he was.

"Wait… Father?" he murmured quietly to himself, before resolving to pick up the item that Judy had thrown to him.

The _item_. It was his wallet!

When he had recovered enough and regained his bearings, Officer Nicholas Wilde decided not to pursue the two teens anymore. He was certain that he would cross their paths again soon. Real soon. But that was a matter to be dealt with for another time.

For now, he decided to head back to his rented apartment.

He needed rest.

The day had been long, confusing, and tiring – to say the least.

Yes, rest sounded good.


	7. Downtime

**Downtime**

Nick wandered through the relatively quiet streets on the way to his rented apartment. Even though his mother had insisted that he could stay with her for as long as he wished, Nick resolved to pay for his own place, to save his mother the trouble of having to provide for herself and him, even though he knew that with Officer Oates' investments his mother would have no shortage of money at all.

He pawed through his pocket to stroke at his wallet, to again remind himself tangibly that everything was still there. Judy hadn't been kidding when she said she'd give it back to him. His head hurt again just thinking about the incident. Thieves with honour? In all his 23 years of life, Nick never believed such a concept existed, and yet here and now the evidence for it lay in his pocket. This day had just been one big wowser, to say the least.

He soon arrived at his condominium room at the Sequoia Towers, and stepping through the door into his room, he laid his handheld equipment onto his bedside desk. Strutting briskly into the kitchen, he grabbed a small bag of frozen crickets from the freezer and placed them in the microwave. He then fetched some English Breakfast tea from his pantry, and mixed it from some hot water from his teapot into a mug that would be ready for him to drink after he downed his dinner.

Just as he was about to flick the computer on, the ring of his phone stopped him. He picked it up with a paw and glanced at the brightened screen, squinting a bit. Mom was calling. With a much more lively spirit now, he smiled with joy as he tapped a digit at the answer button.

"Hello, baby!" his mother's voice came through, "How was my little fox's first day on the force?"

Nick held back a wince. Not brilliantly, he would say, but since he didn't consider himself to be in an emotionally stable state to be the judge of that, he just fell back on a popular, primary strategy. Lying.

"It was awesome, Mom," he said, flashing a grin, "My friends and I really integrated well with kickstarting the success of our dreams."

"And how are your friends doing? You check on them yet?"

"Not yet, exactly," Nick admitted honestly, "I just got back from the grocery store. But I do know that Harry, Brad and Benji are taking their assigned tasks well. I'll check on the others after I eat."

"That's good, baby. Keep living your dream and making the world the better place. I'm proud of you, Nicky. Always have been and always will be," said Marian before delivering the parental farewell words, "Love you."

"Love you too, Mom. Goodnight," Nick replied, smiling as his finger glided over and pressed down on the end button.

* * *

"Hi there, fellow Zootopian. This is Doctor Apprentice Madge Honey. Sorry I can't come to the phone right now, because duty demands that I'm still needed at the hospital. Please leave a message after the beep," buzzed the voice of Madge's automated call receiver.

Nick sighed and ended the call. It had been the same case with Flash too, though the fox suspected that it was only because the sloth just took a long time to get home from work. He glanced at the clock.

7:30 pm.

He still had time to call the others.

Ollie and Kirby were still on their patrol through the Canal District, and were staying the night at the suburb's precinct. Unfortunately, the TV weather broadcast reported that there was a fierce autumn thunderstorm raging through the canals, so the signal was too poor for Nick to be able to make contact with them.

He found much better success with Andy.

"All was peaceful today, bro, so the sergeant just had us do a few drills around the course to pass the time. An impromptu competition was started, and I came in 2nd place overall. Pretty slick, wouldn't you say so, Nick?" the zebra rumbled mirthfully. On the other side of the line, Nick beamed. "I'm so glad you were able to accustom yourself so well and so quickly."

"And what of you?" the zebra inquired, "Is copping everything _you_ hoped it would be?"

Nick decided to be a bit more truthful and upfront this time.

"It was kinda disappointing and anticlimactic, really," he spoke through his phone, "The chief of precinct one gave all the other officers, bar me and Benji, actual field assignments to do. Me and Ben just got dibs on assigning parking tickets."

"Ooh, that's a very rough business to be in," murmured Andy in sympathy, "I assume and hope that the others will try to–"

"Make time pass quicker for me. Yes they told me they would do that," Nick finished, confirming his friend's educated guess.

"At least you're not alone, Nick. You will _never_ be alone."

"Yeah… have a good night, Andy."

"You too."

After hanging up his call with the zebra, Nick dialed up Finnick's number. How was the fennec getting on?

"Yo, this is Finnick. Whoever it is, I'm terribly sorry but I have a bit of a cold right now, so my voice is crap for the meanwhile."

Upon hearing the burly voice of his diminutive friend, Nick smiled. "Hey Finn, how did your assignment go today?"

"You serious, mate? Why do you think I feel like horsecrap right now? Us fennecs are not bred for the freezing tundras," Finnick groaned wearily from the other side of the line.

"I feel for ya. Another things us foxes are not bred for is for an environment where we are outsmarted by the wits of our ancient prey," Nick mumbled in tiredness as well.

"Wait… are you saying–"

"That I got conned by a bunny, I got that!" Nick grimaced as he recalled his tale to Finnick.

"Well… crap man. Are you gonna report that tomorrow?"

"I'll try, though my guess on the outcome is that the chief won't give a piss about it. Now that I also put my mind to it, I think he also deliberately assigned you to investigations in Tundratown so that you'd be pushed to your limits. I'm gonna ask for you to be shifted to a better environment."

"I would not do that if I were you. We're bloody fresh fish in an ocean, Wilde," Finnick said, mild consternation leaking into his voice, "Though I do appreciate the gesture. I just don't think we have that kind of power in our paws yet."

"We _should_ have," grumbled Nick, "We're police officers serving and protecting in the line of duty. We should be getting respect from everyone, not just from our friends."

"Agreed, but for now we should just hoist our sails and do our best to ride out the storm. I'm sure tomorrow might bring a better catch," Finnick spoke, sounding rather sagely to Nick.

"Enough with the metaphors, alright? That's an order," the red fox retorted playfully.

"Oh yeah, and when were you my senior in rank?"

"Ever since I trained to become an actual officer, and not just a glorified taxi driver?"

"Har har. Good night, Nick."

"Good night, buddy."

With that, both friends tabbed the end button.

* * *

With nothing else to do for the night, and with nothing good on TV at the moment, Nick decided to turn in relatively early for the night.

The clock now said 9:30 pm.

 _"Oh yeah, much more early than I'm used to,"_ Nick thought as he brushed his teeth and went about his nightly business.

After saying his evening prayers, he switched off the lights and slid under the covers of his bed.

 _"Tomorrow's another day,"_ he thought dreamily as he let sleep overcome him.


	8. Honestly, I'm Honest

**Honestly, I'm Honest**

Benjamin Clawhauser watched as his red fox friend left the Bug Burga joint with his lunch in a doggy bag. "I need to speak with the chief about something," Nick said, before farewelling Benji with a "Stay out of trouble!"

Benjamin returned the favour with a playful "Same for you, Wilde!"

No sooner than Nick had driven round the block, an alarm next door sounded. Clawhauser sighed. "Looks like my lunch hour has turned into a punch hour."

The cheetah officer raced out of Bug Burga to see a weasel racing away with a zipped up duffel bag, with a pig huffing and puffing after him. The pig turned to him. "Officer! Thank God, you're here! My shop was just robbed! The weasel's gettin' away!"

"I'm right on it, sir!" Clawhauser barked as he got down and sprinted away on all fours. The weasel was devilishly slick. The perp slid under a wired fence, which Benjamin had to spring over, losing some momentum in the process. The officer used a free paw to open his radio. "Dispatch, this is Officer Clawhauser! We've got a 10-15 situation here! A criminal – slim weasel, wear's an ill-fitting shirt and blue jeans – has stolen some shop goods and is making a getaway towards the bus depot! I'm in pursuit! Standby!"

"Officer Clawhauser, we hear you loud and clear and you're acknowledged. A cruiser is on standby to intercept. Good luck."

"Okay," thought Benjamin as he went back to racing down on all fours, "Time to put my training to the test!"

The weasel slid in and out of traffic. Vehicles screeched to a stop as the drivers honked frantically.

"Watch it!"

"Look out!"

Clawhauser just used his toned legs to vault over the masses of metal frames, window panes and rubber circles. The weasel slid past the grand doors of the Central Station, weaving through small bodies and gigantic legs to make his way up to the rooftops of some service stands. Clawhauser continued his pursuit from the ground as the weasel leaped onto the top of a bus that was pulling away, its destination the Zootennial Stadium. "No you don't," grunted Clawhauser grimly as he grit his jaws together and leaped onto a bench table, then onto a lamp post, and using some rigid power lines as a very thin trampoline, the cheetah made his jump onto the roof of the bus.

The weasel shrieked and jumped onto another passing bus. Clawhauser, unhesitating, followed in a millisecond. The slippery mugger tried another tactic to lose the doggedly persistent feline, using the duffel bag straps to sling himself around and away onto a nearby lamp post. Clawhauser wasn't able to react as quickly this time, allowing the weasel to forsake the bag and start sprinting for all he was worth to preserve his freedom. Snarling determinedly, Clawhauser yanked up the bag as he passed it, and bounding on all fours he quickly caught up and clamped his jaws around the criminal, who screamed.

* * *

Zootopia Police Department, Precinct One. A place where justice is meted out fairly to all. Where villains are prosecuted and heroes are exalted.

It's also a place where prejudice runs deep.

"You really think I'm gonna believe a fox?" Bogo snorted, glancing up from his paperwork to lay an uninterested eye on Nick.

"Sir, you have to believe me! She kicked my ass last night!" Nick protested, still unbelieving of the bias levelled against his species.

"Come on. A fox like you, losing against a cute little bunny? A likely story!" Bogo grunted.

Nick quickly decided to make the buffalo eat his words.

"If you think so highly of me, _sir_ , then why don't you assign me on the missing mammals case?" the fox jabbed.

"I don't think you've got the gist of how we do things here, Wilde," Bogo rumbled, standing out of his seat, "New officers – like you – start out at the bottom of the pack."

"Freezing our asses off!" Nick's voice cut in like a knife through hot butter, "You knowingly and deliberately assigned my little buddy to the ruddy polar caps, sir!"

"Don't use that tone with me, Wilde! As I was saying, recruits start out at the bottom of the pack. Young foxes, like you especially, hold the rank of the runts in our herd. Then you work your way up from the pits to become our equals on the open ground."

"I can't help but notice the way you addressed my species with the word 'especially', sir," Nick noted pointedly.

"Are you going to continue showing cheek to me, officer?" queried Bogo, his ire beginning to spike. A voice over the intercom interrupted him. "Chief Bogo, Mrs Otterton would like to see you."

"Stocklag, tell her not now," the chief grunted back through the line.

"Now listen closely to me, Officer Wilde, because I will not be repeating this _twice_ …"

The clank of the office door opening dissipated the molten mood of the room and snapped it to pieces as if it were brittle metal. A desolate, middle-aged female otter stepped in. "Please Chief Bogo! I just need five minutes of your time!" she pleaded tearfully.

A donkey officer nervously poked his head through. "Er, sorry about that sir. She moves quicker than a stabbed rat when she's passionate!"

"It's alright Bernie. Dismissed," Bogo replied to the dispatch officer, before returning his attention to the lady who stood in front of him.

"Ma'am," the chief attempted to politely diffuse the emotionally agitated otter, "Please, you must know that we are doing everything we can to locate all these missing mammals, and–"

"Please! Please there must be a spare officer that we could utilize to find my husband!"

"Ma'am," Nick spoke up as he stepped forward and looked at the older mammal, "I am that spare officer. Fill me in."

The otter gasped in relieved solace, "Oh, thank you! Bless you! God bless you, Officer Wilde!"

"You know my name?"

"Not just by your badge. You and Officer Shear are the hotspot discussions that are floating in popularity around the city," the otter said, then she pulled out what looked to be a family photo from her pawbag, "My husband has been missing for 10 days. His name is Emmitt Otterton. He's a florist. We have two beautiful children. He would never just disappear. Use this photo. Please find my Emmitt."

A silent pause came that no one respectful enough dared to break as the mother otter forced back her despairing sobs.

"Bring him home to me and my babies, _please_ ," the otter said at last. She laid a dire, imploring glance straight at Nick, who could only nod and salute in humble resoluteness. "it'll be my duty and my pleasure," he said to the lady.

"Um, Mrs Otterton? May you excuse us for a while?" asked Bogo through a forced smile, though only Nick took notice of this. The otter obediently and gracefully strutted out of the buffalo's office as he softly closed the door behind her.

"Just one sec."

Then Bogo turned around, a raging fire in his hazel eyes as he spoke his condemning words to Nick.

"You. Are. Fired."

"What?! Excuse me?!"

"You're an insubordinate, prideful, foolhardy sorry excuse for an _animal_. Call yourself a cop? You are nothing but a smug and greedy schemer!" Bogo thundered, though he kept his volume controlled. Nick gaped and glared in incredulous rage. Bogo wasn't finished yet. "Now when I open this door, you are going to tell Mrs Otterton that you are a former meter maid with delusions of grandeur who will _not be taking the case_."

As buffalo butt swung the door open again, both officers were greeted with the sight of Leodore Lionheart alongside Mrs Otterton. The lion was shaking the otter's paw before he turned, eyes alive with excitement, to Nick.

"I have just heard Officer Wilde is taking the case!" the lion announced, baritone voice booming with pride.

"Assistant Mayor Lionheart," greeted Bogo in an ironically _sheepish_ voice.

"My Mammal Inclusion Initiative Programme is really starting to pay off!" the vice mayor grinned to himself, as he sent a quickly yet formally typed text message to the lead mayor.

"Bellwether's gonna launch herself over the moon with joy!"

No one noticed the chief of police doing a hoofpalm in silent, _screaming_ frustration. Nor did they notice him utter out a quietly burning "Oh _Lord_ …"

"Now that is done and dusted, Officer Wilde, let me congratulate you," Lionheart barked in his _normal_ voice, stepping forward and vigorously shaking Nick's paw, "You're doing the city a real honour by stepping up to the call of duty when danger and crime rears their ugly heads."

"All part of wearing the blues, sir," Nick smiled back in modesty. He was sure his cheek fur was turning an even deeper shade of red.

"Well, good luck son," the voice mayor hooted as he clapped a paw down on the young fox's back. Nick oofed a bit but still kept his muzzle beaming ecstatically. The hulking lion and the flimsy otter waved their farewells as they strode off with joy and hope in their hearts.

Meanwhile, Nick was left to face the tiny little pieces of what remained of Bogo's wrath.

"Fox… I will give you 48 hours."

"Hurrah!"

"That's 2 days to find Mr Otterton."

"Got it," Nick chirped as he made his way to the door. Another summoning huff from Bogo gave him pause.

"BUT!" snapped the buffalo, before lowering his voice back to normal. "You strike out? You resign," he said in a disturbingly calm voice.

Nick held back a gulp.

"Okay…"

"Good," the chief said, suddenly sounding enthusiastic, "Officer Oates, our specialist in detective work, will show you your case file. As well as that, he will enter you into the ZPD Database System, to make life _that_ much more easier for you. Do. Not. Fail."

Nick wasn't hesitating.

"Yessir," he quickly puffed before slipping out of the open office door like the wind.

* * *

"Officer Oates!" Nick called as he entered the workplace of his childhood idol.

"Ah, Officer Wilde! I've seen you've finally been assigned a case! I knew you had potential, son!" the old police horse said, greeting his young fan enthusiastically.

"Yeah, it's the one about Emmitt Otterton," replied Nick, intending to fill his idol in on what his new case was to be about.

"Ah, old Emmitt. Knew the fellow since elementary," the senior mammal reminisced, "Good times… Now here's your case file, young one."

The horse passed a manila folder to the fox, who opened it and scanned the details. It was alarmingly bare. "Now," Nick began, "Not to be hasty, or something, but can I also get into the database to search for info?"

"Already done you in, sonny. The chief told me just when he sent you down here."

"Whoo," Nick whistled in awe, "Thanks sir!"

"It's the least I could do, Nicky. For you, your mother, and predators in general. Just do us all proud, won't ya?"

"Yes sir. Will do, sir," Nick chirred, saluting the senior cop as he made his way over to the spare mac computer.

Nick typed in the missing mammal's name.

E-M-M-I-T-T.

O-T-T-E-R-T-O-N.

The details on the file came up. Nick skimmed through what he already knew. He clicked on the link called "Last Known Sighting". The link led to a video, which Nick scrutinized heavily.

He saw that the video sighting took place around dusk, along the main street that cut a linking path that ran from Savanna Central to Downtown and beyond. Emmitt Otterton was seen in a sleek white limo with a plate that read 2-9-T-H-D-0-3.

Nick paused the video and copied the letters onto a hasty email that he would forward to Flash at the DMV, requesting his sloth friend to run the plate and find out whom the limo belonged to, and to text the fox when he deciphered the results.

Turning his attention back to the video, Nick caught sight of a small grey bunny, no older than 15, with amethyst eyes, carrying a bucket of soapy water and a squeegee as she offered her services to drivers waiting in the agonizing traffic. A small shrew that Nick knew to be 3 years the bunny's senior, was perched on the rim of the bucket, holding onto the upright handle.

The fox's face fell, and his enthusiasm took quite a plummet.

"Oh _no_ … not those two…"


End file.
